


Don't Go Far From Me

by benjaminrussell



Category: Shadow of the Templar - M. Chandler
Genre: Double Down spoilers, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27963836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: The usual mix of exhilaration and apprehension flowed through Nate as he spotted the thief on the roof of Annadale Labs. After the long days of preparation, both back at HQ and here on site, it was finally happening!AKA. The Annadale Labs scene from Nate's POV.
Relationships: Johnny Pilgrim/Nate Waxman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Don't Go Far From Me

**Author's Note:**

> I'm rereading the series yet again, and felt the urge to write Nate's reaction to Johnny getting shot.

The usual mix of exhilaration and apprehension flowed through Nate as he spotted the thief on the roof of Annadale Labs. After the long days of preparation, both back at HQ and here on site, it was finally happening! He must have made a noise because he heard Simon call his codename over comms.

“Oh crap.” Nate jolted back into professional mode, feeling Rich moving next to him but not paying him any attention. “He's here.”

“Talk to me.” Simon’s voice was soft, but Nate knew he was just as on edge as the rest of them were.

Nate started reporting on the thief’s movement, or well, lack of. Jeremy broke in with a derisive comment, but Nate mostly ignored him and focused on relaying to the rest of the team what the thief was doing. Then the man slid through the roof vent, and soon Jeremy was starting the countdown. Nate waited with bated breath as he stared at the camera feeds, watching for any sign of movement and waiting for the vent cover inside the lab to open.

Almost on the dot of Jeremy hitting the end of his countdown, the vent opened. Nate relayed the information, giving a play-by-play account of every little detail as a rope dropped down, shortly followed by the thief himself. It was all going to plan as he went for the safe, studied it, and then opened it with the code. The air conditioning burst into life at Rich’s command and then the thief had the fake bullets and the floppy disk in his hands. Nate didn’t date to breathe at all as he watched the thief study them, praying to anyone or anything who was listening that his work passed muster.

The moment felt like it was stretching out for hours, but then the thief put the bullets and the floppy disk into his pouch and Nate gasped out, “He's taken the bait, I repeat, he has taken the bait.”

Jeremy took over recounting what the thief was doing as the man closed the safe and began his escape, climbing up the rope and then doing an impressive manoeuvre that had him flipping upside down so he could enter the vent feet first. Once the thief was out of sight, Jeremy began another countdown, cueing Simon and Sandy, then the air conditioning cut off again, and then there was suddenly a whole lot of shouting. Nate couldn’t help the flinch at Simon yelling ‘FBI’, and he hoped no-one else had noticed. Thankfully both Rich and Jeremy seemed too focused on what was going on inside the building.

They listened to Simon’s half of his shouted conversation with the thief, watching and listening silently until something the man said made Jeremy frown, and then right after, Mike exclaimed, “…what the hell?”

More shouting, Jeremy’s urgent warning, and then a loud screech of metal. The thief was out of the vent and Mike was yelling, quickly followed by two gunshots breaking the silence of the night outside. It was all Nate could do to hang on the sounds coming through the comms and the little he could see from the camera feeds, and it was torturous enough before there was a choking sound, a thud, and Mike shrieking, “Texas!”

Nate’s heart felt like it stopped, and he gripped his mouse so hard that the plastic creaked. Not Johnny. He of course hated the thought of any of his team getting injured, but there was something even worse about it being Johnny.

"Aw fuck, I'm shot," Johnny said in a shocked little voice, making Nate’s heart start beating again, this time way too fast.

Simon and Mike shouted at each other over comms, but Nate’s focus was entirely on the quiet breathy noises coming from Johnny’s channel. As long as Johnny was making noise, he was alive. Nate repeated that to himself like a litany, right up until Johnny spoke again to finally report that he’d taken the bullet to his vest and was relatively fine. Nate huffed out a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heartbeat while he waited for the team to make it back to the van. As soon as they were close, he shoved the van doors open so he could see Johnny with his own eyes, knowing it was the only thing that would allow him some semblance of relief. He squeezed himself into a corner as the others helped Johnny into the van and laid him on the floor, clamping down on the urge to reach out and touch his friend. The bullet hit Johnny’s vest. He would be fine.

Nate remembered thinking as he fell asleep that night that it could be worse. They were all still alive and no-one was majorly hurt.

Two days later they were reeling in the wake of Rich’s death.


End file.
